Most Continue to Favor Gays Serving Openly in Military

Report Read time:
Most Continue to Favor Gays Serving Openly in Military

As the Pentagon prepares to release its highly anticipated survey of military personnel about the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, most Americans (58%) say they favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces. Fewer than half that number (27%) oppose allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly.

These opinions have changed little in recent years. Since 2005 – including three surveys this year – roughly 60% have consistently favored permitting homosexuals to serve openly in the military. There is greater support for permitting gays to serve openly today than there was in 1994, after President Clinton put in place the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy. In July of that year, 52% said they favored allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military while 45% said they opposed allowing this.

The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted Nov. 4-7 among 1,255 adults, finds continuing partisan and religious differences in opinions about whether to permit gays and lesbians to serve openly in the nation's armed forces.

Read the full report, Most Continue to Favor Gays Serving Openly in Military on the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Web site

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up

MORE FROM PEW

About a dozen people stand examining large blue bins full of whole fish in a warehouse. Some people are in green clothes, others in blue, and all wear ballcaps. A few hold clipboards. Reducing Risk Strengthens the Seafood Supply Chain
A worker in a seafood market dumps bright orange shrimp from a blue bin onto a bed of ice between a lot of other seafood laid out for sale. Other workers are visible in the background, as are the arms of shoppers placing orders from the other side of the ice bed. Seafood Industry Benefits From Greater Vessel Transparency
An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.